Q12 - Linguist: The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

[ohthatpatrick]

Question Type:
Inference (most supported)

Stimulus Breakdown:
SW hypothesis says "a society's world view is influenced by the native language(s)." This hypothesis can't be verified by testing, as we would with physical science hypotheses.

Answer Anticipation:
The word that sticks out to me is the "But". Inference is about getting us to synthesize / integrate claims together. When they create tension between two ideas using a "but/yet/however", we should try to think about the net result of those claims. (f.e. "Patrick is mean, but he gives children high-fives" = "mean people sometimes give children high fives"). Here, it sounds like the SW hypothesis is just an interesting idea, not a scientifically provable hypothesis.

Correct Answer:
D

Answer Choice Analysis:
(A) We don't have any way to support "probably false". Where does the skepticism come from? Why claims did the author make to imply that native language does NOT influence a society's worldview?

(B) Extreme = "only". Even though physical science was the only verifiable hypothesis source mentioned, we can't assume it's the ONLY one.

(C) Extreme = "only". The language of "seriously considered" is new. We can't assume that this author is mocking the SW hypothesis and implying it shouldn't be seriously considered. He might think that the SW hypothesis is totally legitimate, but can still acknowledge that we have no quantifiable way of testing that.

(D) Yes! "This hypothesis does not have .. verifiability" = we don't know whether it's true or false.

(E) Extreme = "only". And again, "taken seriously" is the same extreme tone as "seriously considered" in (C).

Takeaway/Pattern: When reading Inference (most supported), they normally want us to combine ideas using either Causal or Comparison/Contrast language. Here, we had a "but" that introduced some tension. (D) safely reports what we know about the SW hypothesis. When looking at Inference answer choices, always beware Strong/Specific wording. The three "only" answers should be fairly quick and easy eliminations.

#officialexplanation

[lichenrachel]

I had a struggle between A and D. I simply can not see the difference between the two choices. "The S-W hypothesis is probably false" vs. "We do not know whether the S-W hypothesis is true or false" - What am I missing here?

[cyruswhittaker]

Choice A asserts that the hypothesis is probably false, but there is no support given in the argument for making a determination of whether the hypothesis is actually true or false.

The argument merely states the hypothesis and then proceeds that it does not have the level of verifiability of physical science, since it cannot be tested.

But just because something cannot be tested and verified to a particular standard does not mean that it is probably false. In my opinion, this choice is attractive because it lures students to go with their preconceived notions that if something cannot be verified, then it is probably not true (kind of similair to the "lack of evidence=false" flaw).

Choice D on the other hand asserts that we don't know whether it is true or false. This is supported because we are told that "it is not clear that the hypothesis could be tested." If we don't have a clear idea of how the hypothesis could be tested, then we can't decide whether it is true or false.

[PolinaP535]

Could somebody explain why it can't be B?

[dmitry]

B is a reversal of what we know. The stimulus implies that the hypotheses of physical science can be verified (phys sci --> verifiable), while B says that only the hypotheses of physical science can be verified (verifiable --> phys sci). It's the difference between "My students are human" and "Only my students (and no others) are human."